This Pull-Up Variation Will Give Your Core a Ridiculous Workout

Use this move to build strength in your abs for longer, stronger days on the bike

You may not be a gymnast—but you can adopt some of their moves. Have you ever seen a gymnast’s body? They’re carved from years and years of conditioning and if you start to think like a gymnast, you could be one, too.

Gymnasts primarily use their own body weight as their main training tool. And fitness trainer and author Joey Thurman knows just how to adapt a gymnast-like mindset and use a few bodyweight moves in your own workout.

The move is for abs, but it actually works everything from your hips to your back and biceps. “Here’s the best exercise you’re not doing. It’s great for your biceps, back, and core,” says Thurman. “We’re essentially going to hold the pull-up position, kick the knees up, and extend the legs down straight, which is really going to engage the lower abs and entire abdominal region.”

Get into a chin-up position with your arms at a 90-degree angle, elbows making a straight line to your shoulders. Then kick the legs up, keeping them straight. Lower them slowly back down, keeping them controlled and your abs on fire. (For more, check out our Big Book of Training.)

Gravity is your greatest weapon in this exercise, as is proper balance. Your biceps will likely be on fire by the fourth or fifth rep. Just remember to keep your legs straight and controlled as they go down. Don’t flip them up and down.

“Do as many as you can, a few days a week, and those abs will be so much stronger,” says Thurman. We believe it.

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